LinkedIn: Strategies for Your Job Search

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1 LinkedIn: Strategies for Your Job Search April 7, 2012

2 Agenda Goals for Session Why LinkedIn Strategies Enhance Your Online Presence Research Careers, People, Companies Resources 2

3 Why LinkedIn? LinkedIn has become the place for professionals to network, look for jobs, and be found by employers. ---Forbes online, 2/12/2012 3

4 Some LinkedIn Stats Executives from all Fortune 500 companies 2 million+ companies have LinkedIn Company pages Members sharing in over 1 million LinkedIn groups 87% of employers surveyed use for recruiting 95% have hired through LinkedIn Recruiting passive candidates is the leading strategy for competing against other employers 57.8% 70% of employers have rejected a candidate because of information found online 85% say a positive online reputation helps 4

5 LinkedIn Strategies Develop a connecting philosophy Prioritize high quality relationships over a large number of connections When cultivating weaker ties /acquaintances, prioritize diversity in order to broaden the overall reach of your network. The best professional network is both narrow/deep (allies with whom you collaborate regularly) and wide/shallow (weak tie acquaintances who offer fresh ideas and information.) 5

6 LinkedIn Strategies Critical Mass for 2 nd and 3 rd degree connections Be Active LinkedIn is not a substitute for human interaction Pay it Forward the best way to strengthen a relationship is to do something for another person See and Be Seen 6

7 Enhance Your Online Presence Boost Your Profile Make Connections Join the Conversation Share Knowledge Promote Yourself Link to profile in signature Link to Twitter and blog posts Add resume Answer questions 7

8 Anatomy of a Good Profile Headline Photo Summary Specialties Experience Recommendations Applications Public profile link Complete 8

9 Career Management and Job Search Current and future career objectives Research career paths Research industries Research companies via their pages (different from databases) Research job profiles Research and prep for interviews Identify company and industry norms Source jobs! 9

10 Resources LinkedIn Learning Center Settings How to Really Use LinkedIn I m on LinkedIn Now What??? Let s Connect: Using LinkedIn to Get Ahead at Work Power Formula for LinkedIn Success: Kick-Start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search The LinkedIn Personal Trainer: Using LinkedIn to Find, Get Found, and Network Your Way to Success Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn: An Unofficial Step by Step Guide to Creating and Implementing Your LinkedIn Brand Social Networking For Career Success 10

11 Next Steps Review your profile; aim for 100% complete Have a philosophy on connecting and building your network and your group membership Maintain your network be active Familiarize yourself with advanced search capabilities to learn more about people, companies, and industries of interest Set up company alerts 11

13 Getting the most out of LinkedIn General best practices for managing your online presence Keep your profiles on social networking sites updated and consistent. Keep your network on LinkedIn real. Don t connect with people you don t actually know. Expand your network as widely as possible through work, school, personal, and professional organization connections. Keep your online presence clean. Google yourself (search other sites as well) to see what comes up. If you ve changed your name in the past few years, also Google your former name. Adjust privacy controls on networking sites to limit what is viewable to individuals and groups; keep information you don t want outsiders to be able to find private. o Make sure you know what is publicly viewable. (Monitor your tags on Facebook) Manage and monitor your personal blog or website. o If they are personal, be cognizant of the content that you and your friends/family are adding to your blog. These often come up when recruiters Google a candidate. o Professional blogs can show your thoughts and expertise on subject matter. Again, monitor the content because these can be searched by recruiters. o Ask people for feedback on your blog/website. o Consider adding a form of contact ( , website, LinkedIn Profile, etc.) so that people can easily contact you if they find your blog/website. Profile tips Headline: This defaults to your current role, but can be tailored according to your needs (i.e. In transition Seeking a new challenge ). Industry: Defaults to industry of current company/role, but can be manually changed. Photo: A personal photograph adds personality to your page and makes you seem more real. Specialties: This field is searchable. Add keywords by which you d like to be found think of recruiters! Recommendations: Profile search results can be sorted based on how many recommendations users have received. Status Updates ( What are you working on? ): Similar to Twitter status updates, but unlike Twitter, each update isn t archived. Only the most recent post is viewable. Public profile: Make sure to edit this so it can be added to your signature or business card Groups Can join a maximum of 50 groups and 50 subgroups. Search for and find groups based on professional expertise and interests a good way to find related events, learning opportunities, and/or contacts. Check group guidelines before requesting to join. Looking for additional tips? LinkedIn keeps an official blog which tags entries in several categories. Each of these categories can be added as an RSS feed or viewed individually. Google it! There are a lot of unofficial blogs dedicated to LinkedIn, which can sometimes uncover additional tricks based on personal trials and errors The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Last Revised 3/02/2012

14 Script Ideas for LinkedIn when reaching out via InMail I am in the fulltime MBA program at Chicago Booth and your profile is of particular interest to me as I see you successfully transitioned to your corporate strategy role from consulting. I d be most appreciative if we could spend about minutes on the phone for introductions and get your perspective and professional guidance. Thanks in advance, Jennifer I was interested to read your profile on LinkedIn as I noticed we have a few things in common, including our time at Stanford and a shared interest in Habitat for Humanity. I would like to connect with you this week by phone for introductions and to see if we might be of professional assistance to each other. What is the best way to reach you and what days can you chat for a few minutes? Sincerely, John Smith I noticed we are both members of the Health Care, Bio, Pharma and Life Sciences group on LinkedIn. I am always interested in connecting with fellow HR professionals in the area and would like to speak with you in the coming weeks if you are available. How can I reach you by phone? Thank you, Betsy Johnson Good morning! I noticed in your profile on LinkedIn today that we have a few friends in common, such as Pat Harmon at IBM. Also, I see we both worked at Microsoft at one time. I would welcome a chance to speak by phone this week. I would be glad to make my network available to you and I would like to see if you can assist me as I expand my network. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks! Sandra Jones Good morning. My research and networking have pointed me towards an open position in your organization that appears to be a great fit. I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you and learn more about your role and your career path. I encourage you to look at my profile to gain an understanding of my background. How is the best way for me to reach you by phone this week? Thanks in advance for your time. Sincerely, Tamara Anderson Script for asking for a referral to another person in LinkedIn Job Seeker We haven t spoken in a while, but I hope all is well with you and your family. I noticed in LinkedIn that you are connected to Bill Thomas, VP of Business Development at ABC company. I have been pursuing a finance role with ABC company and would be grateful for an introduction to Bill. Would you be willing to help me connect with him? I am also up for a cup of coffee or brief call to catch up! Let me know what works for you. Thanks in advance for your help. Jocelyn Why don t you see a name at the beginning of the message? LinkedIn automatically adds the first name of the person to the message! 2012 The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Last Revised 3/02/2012

Landing your First Job in HR. Simon Parkin & Ranya El-Farnawani

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